The number of babies born in October increased two-point-five percent from a year earlier, continuing the uptrend in births for the 16th month in a row.

According to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics on Wednesday, 21-thousand-958 babies were born in October.

The monthly tally has continued to increase year-on-year since July 2024.

The total fertility rate, or the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime, rose zero-point-02 on-year to zero-point-81.

There were 19-thousand-586 marriages in October, up zero-point-two percent from a year ago, with a ministry official attributing the slow growth to the reduced number of working days due to the Chuseok holiday and to the base effect from a sharp increase the previous October.

Meanwhile, 29-thousand-739 deaths were reported in October, down zero-point-three percent, resulting in a natural population decline of seven-thousand-781.